Product Focus: Specifying Spreader Attachments

Managers have a host of issues to consider when specifying spreader attachments for grounds equipment:

type — drop, rotary for broadcast spreading, or spray for liquids

ground driven or power takeoff

corrosion-resistant stainless steel hoppers and gear drives

variable broadcast speeds

narrow rows

combination salt, sand and fertilizer

single or multiple compartments for spreading several materials at once

swath width

hopper capacity.

A spreader with a universal attachment for all-terrain vehicles can spread salt, sand, seed and fertilizer. One type of rotary spreader covers a path 4-6 feet wide from a 15-gallon, non-corroding, plastic hopper.

An attachment's coverage varies with speed. Higher speeds widen the drop area, but the coverage is thinner. A drop spreader covers only the width between the wheels.

Sprayers can reach areas spreaders cannot, such as spraying trees with herbicide. Consider skid sprayers, which are skid mounted onto the bed of a utility vehicle. One type of unit has tanks with capacities of 55-200-gallons, a spray rate of 5 gallons per minute, and nozzles to cover a wider area or reach into tall trees.

Crews also can use liquid sprayers to apply liquid snow-melt chemicals to walks, driveways, and gravel paths — areas snow plows and snow throwers cannot access. Applied every few weeks in winter before snowfalls, the liquid snow melter makes snow removal easier, does not leave a white salt residue, and works in temperatures down to -25.

Thomas A. Westerkamp is a maintenance and engineering management consultant and president of the work management division of Westerkamp Group LLC.